How I got my first book deal (and lit agent)

hint: check your spam folder

For those who might be unaware, besides being a freelance writer, I am a published author. I wrote Friendship Signs, for Adams Media, which was published in 2018, and Joy in the Stars, collaboration with BuzzFeed for Running Press, which was published in 2021.

If it doesn’t seem obvious by their titles alone, yes, they are IP projects about astrology. The first centers around friendships and astrology, and the second focuses on self care and astrology.

What is IP? IP is short for intellectual property. In the publishing world it means that someone else owns the idea, and you're writing it. In my case, the publishers own the ideas my books and they commissioned me to write them.

Photo by Martin de Arriba on Unsplash

I didn’t even know this type of thing existed before it happened to me, but it makes sense. There are fiction IPs like those tied to major media franchises, and there are non-fiction IPs, like the books on gaming, relationships, or, yes, astrology.

So how did I get my book d…